Twelve Prison-Trained Wild Horses Find Good Homes at Adoption

Carson City, Nev. – Twelve saddle-trained wild horses showed off their best moves at Saturday’s adoption, wowing a crowd of eager adopters with the ease of handling to start and stop, follow cues and remain calm while trainers twirled lassos above their heads. After being saddle-trained for four months as part of an inmate horse training program at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center, the wild horses were offered for adoption and all of them found homes on Oct. 20. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Nevada Department of Agriculture and the Nevada Department of Corrections hosted the adoption event at the correctional center in Carson City.

The wild horses, gathered from herd management areas within administered public lands in Nevada, California, Oregon and Idaho, received successful bids totaling $10,900. The highest bid was placed on a colorful pinto named “Flash” that was adopted for $3,500. Starting bids begin at $150.

The successful bidders officially adopted their new horse and they must show diligent care of each animal for a year before they can apply to the BLM to receive a title of ownership. Since 1973, the BLM has placed more than 230,000 horses and burros into private ownership through the adoption program.

The next saddle-trained horse adoption and competitive auction event will be at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013.

More information about the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program and special adoption events is available at: www.blm.gov/nv.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2014, the BLM generated $5.2 billion in receipts from public lands.